Good morning!  As I climbed out of bed a little later this morning, I had to smile.  This is the first day in a long while I don't have the entire day planned!  Tomorrow is Gary's birthday and I want to bake his cake today, but other than that it's a non-scheduled day!  Don't you just love days like this?  It's almost like experincing a Saturday mentality on a regular work day!

I have a pile of greeting cards on my desk to write, some are sympathy cards, some get well cards and some are birthday wishes.  I am praying that God uses me today to bring a little light and hope to those who will be receiving these cards.  God has given me so many gifts this year and with the beginning of a non-stress day, I want to pass it forward!  If you have the chance, pass forward a blessing today on an unsuspecting person.  The Lord will smile as we demonstrate a powerful lesson on loving our neighbors as ourselves.  Have a good one!

Hi my friends to another week!  I had the opportunity to host a luncheon for several of my friends today.  It was so much fun....a lot of work, but rewarding as we laughed and shared stories of life and our summer activties.  We enjoyed facials and special hand treatments compliments of Teressa....thanks so much for making the day even more special!

I want to ask for prayer for a dear friend's niece in Virginia.  She's a young woman battling cancer.  From the tone of the emails I'm receiving, the family is very sad and struggling with her diagnosis.  Please pray for comfort, peace and grace as these loved ones try to remain encouraging.  God is the Great Physician....He can heal anyone of anything at anytime.  Healing will take place, but to understand earthly healing vs. eternal healing is a tough concept to wrap our minds around when we desperately want a miracle this side of heaven.

Prayer is a mighty force for Christians.  Please pray for this young woman.  God bless, my friends.

We've had a great time visiting with the relatives at the family reunion today.  It's always nice to sit around and see everyone especially the new babies!  Gary and I enjoyed driving to the Cleveland area on Friday and spending time with Kimberly and Luke.  They fixed us a delicious dinner of shrimp over angel hair pasta complete with pesto sauce!  Outstanding!!  Then today we drove to Gary's hometown for the meeting with relatives.

There is an annual softball game played each year and it's always fun to sit on the bleachers and cheer for both teams since members of the family make up both sides.  A good time is had by all.

Now onto "The Lube"....it's another tradition for the night of the reunion.  All the "young people" get together for wings and share more time together while the older crowd stays behind at a place called "the hall".....it's been a hot humid day, but one filled with more memories!  Have a great night everyone!  God bless!

Although it's after midnight, my blog is still posting a date of the 13th...oh, well!  Gary and I are headed back to Cleveland to visit with Kimberly and Luke today.  They have moved their furniture back into the bedrooms (we helped paint these rooms a couple of weeks ago and now the carpet has been laid) and the viewing is ready!  We will have a brand new room to stay in tonight!

On Saturday we head to Gary's family reunion in Brookville, Ohio.  It's at a park and I think this year will be a hot one.  The weather for the past week has decided to become August type weather after we'd enjoyed cooler days and nights. 

Have a great weekend, my friends.  God bless!

Good morning, my friends!  I just received a phone call from a close friend of mine.  Her first grandchild was born about an hour ago.  She is on her way to the hospital, along with "grandpa" to visit with little MacKenzie Grace (need to check with grandma on the correct spelling!).  I simply can't believe that her son, Scott, is a dad.  Scott and Nicholas were born the same month of the same year and we've known each other since Gary and I moved to Pittsburgh.  In fact, we met through our church when we were both pregant with the boys!

Time seems to be reminding me of how it is fleeting.  Seems like yesterday Beth and I were having our boys and today her "boy" becomes a dad!  God has been good, but once again I am nudged with the knowledge to live life to the fullest, honor God and serve Him daily.  But most of all, count my blessings....name them one by one and today I'm thankful for the safe delivery of this precious little girl!

Hey, friends!  Happy Wednesday!  Well, I helped a friend of mine yesterday make lady locks!  Her son is getting married in a little over a week and the final preparations are being made in the "cookie table" department!  Boy, do I understand what she's going through!  It was a joy to be in her kitchen and help with the cookie making.  She presented me with a load of thumbprint cookies filled with Kimberly's wedding colors just a month ago.  Time does fly.  I'm excited to be part of the celebration of her family and go to the wedding to relax and enjoy the day.

I hope all of you are having a wonderful day and that something special happens to remind you of God's goodness.  It might be as simple as a phone call, a card or a kind word, so listen for the Lord to show His love for you today! 

Today, August 11th, was my Father-in-law's birthday.  Pop, as I affectionately called him would have been 80 years old.  He passed away in 2003 after a ten year battle with cancer.  The family still misses him so much.  So I decided I would share a few of my favorite memories that I associated with Gary's dad.

First of all, family was everything to Pop.  He has five children and he spoke of them proudly and continuously.  Maxine, Gary, Jerry, Annie and Amy (the baby) were five of his favorite topics....then came the grandkids.  Twelve grandchildren and he saw them all as much as possible.  When Nicholas was playing soccer at Westminster College (which was very close to my in-laws' home), Pop would bring his folding chair and sit on the sidelines and watch practice!  Afterwards, he would give Nicholas packs of crackers and generic pop.  We still laugh about his love for generic items and his passion to shop with coupons and see how much money he could save!

Then when Kimberly went to college, Pop visited her that first fall at her dorm room and called Gary and me and yelled at us because we allowed her to be in co-ed dorm!  At that same visit he took Kimberly and her roommate, Molly, out for pizza.  What a treat for college kids.  Kimberly's college was about 1 1/2 hours away from my in-laws.

But Pop was a gem.  When he first retired from the steel mill, Gary and I had returned from living in Idaho Falls, ID and had moved to Pittsburgh.  We were approximately an hour and 45 minutes from my in-laws and my mother-in-law was still working.  Pop would come down to visit and take the kids (double stroller and all) on a walk so I could jog in the middle of the day.  Sometimes he'd take us for lunch in Station Square, or he'd babysit so I could go to lunch with my friends.  Little things that mean so much to a mom who lives away from family and is home with two little ones while dad works everyday.

I could go on and on.  I guess I'm missing him more this year on his birthday because of Kimberly's recent wedding.  Pop always danced with his daughters and granddaughters at their weddings.  There are many pictures taken as evidence of that fact.  Our lives go on, but we'll always enjoy remembering how he lived his life to the fullest, making memories that each one of us treasure (I could continue with multiple stories; meeting Gary in Reno when Gary was on business and having a blast for a few days; taking Kimberly for steak and eggs at 2:00 a.m. after a game of cards when she mentioned how hungry she was; participating in the Relay for Life at Westminster because Nicholas wanted to honor him for his valiant battle with cancer; always having several half gallons of ice cream in the freezer when I would arrive for a visit because he knew that the other person who loved ice cream as much as he did was me). 

I was deeply blessed to have a father-in-law that loved me as one of his own girls.  Happy Birthday, Pop.  We miss you.

Hey friends.  Hope everyone had a great weekend and a time of worship on Sunday.  Our assistant pastor, Dusty Adkins, is a good friend of my son, Nicholas.  He's only about 28 years old or so, but the Lord has His hand on this young man.  He delivered a great lesson/sermon yesterday on Jonah.  It's such a blessing to know young people are giving their hearts and lives to the Lord and are using their God-given talents to tell others the good news!

I've been struggling a bit with a little health issue, but hopefully after a doctor's visit today I'll be good as new!  I need to continue scrapbooking and completing overdue correspondence and with the weather being so hot, it's a good day to work on these items!  Happy Monday everyone!  God bless....have a great day, Suzie Q!

Don't you enjoy waking up to the sound of birds chirping outside your window instead of the alarm ringing next to your ear?  It's been a good day of relaxation, drinking coffee on the deck with my hubby and exercising with my favorite crew of gals at Fineline.  Now I'm off to have a pedicure and manicure.  A girl has to stay beautiful, right?  Have a great rest of the day, my friends.  God bless!

Hi my friends.  Don't you just love Fridays??  Something about Fridays puts a whole new perspective on the next 24 hours.  Maybe it's the thought of being the end of a work week, maybe it's the realization that the alarm doesn't go off as early the next morning, or it might be that Friday is your day to head to the restaurant of choice and not worry about cooking.  Whatever the reason, most people enjoy Fridays and I'm one of those people. 

I had another great morning of visiting with a friend.  We took a long walk on our local trail and then enjoyed an iced coffee.  We sat under trees delighting in a cool breeze and talked about life, goals and pleasant experiences that happened this week.  As much as I love Fridays, I relish visiting with a good friend.  Friendships are a gift from God and we need to invest more time, energy and effort into those we with whom we share interests and concerns. 

Share a few moments with a friend soon and enjoy your Friday!